Structural reinforcers are used in various industries to provide structural support to or reduce noise and/or vibrations in various products. For example, in the automotive industry, a reinforcer may be used to reinforce a variety of substantially enclosed, elongated structural members, such as beams, pillars, rails, nodes, doors, or roof of the vehicle. Known reinforcers commonly include a rigid carrier member and a structural foam or structural adhesive (collectively herein, “bonding materials”) disposed at select locations on the outer surface of the carrier. The carrier is sometimes made from metal, plastic, glass filled or hybrid metal plastic, or hybrid plastic fiber mat, plastic. The bonding material is commonly in an unactivated state when the reinforcer is manufactured, but configured to be activated and, in some cases, expand in response to an activator, such as heat. The structural reinforcer is configured to be installed inside of a hollow area of a structural member. When the bonding material is activated, it creates a bond between the carrier and the interior walls of the structural member. In the automobile context, the activating heat is commonly provided when the vehicle is processed through the paint booth.
The structural members into which reinforcers have commonly been installed are normally comprised of sheet metal panels that together form a substantially enclosed, elongated hollow member. It has been known to sometimes create various holes in the sheet metal panels to enable the passing of tools or parts therethrough during the manufacturing process. However, because the holes are surrounded on all sides by the remaining sheet metal, the integrity of the structural member is not substantially compromised by the addition of holes. More recently, it has become desirable to sometimes include a cut-out from one of the sheet metal panels of the structural member for ease of manufacturing purposes. A “cut-out”, as opposed to a hole, extends from one edge of the sheet metal to the interior of the sheet metal in a direction that is substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the structural member. Including these types of “cut-outs” in a structural member may compromise its structural integrity more than a simple hole. To date, these potential compromises in structural integrity have been addressed by increasing the thickness or the quality of the sheet metal that forms the structural member. However, that solution can substantially increase the cost and weight of the structural member.
Therefore, the inventors hereof have developed a desirable configuration for a structural member having a cut-out area that improves the structural integrity of the structural member while minimizing the increase in cost and weight of the part.